Feb 24 2021 28 mins
Emma Rice’s passion for wine started, aged 19, with a taste of Krug 1979 from a double magnum, whilst working part-time at The White Horse Inn, Chilgrove. From there, her career has taken her from Oddbins to Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book, to Napa Valley – completing her degree in viticulture and oenology at Plumpton College along the way. After travelling to California and later Tasmania, Australia, Emma returned to the UK to set-up Custom Crush UK Ltd – a wine analysis laboratory and consultancy - through which she met owner and chairman of Hattingley Valley Wines, Simon Robinson, just as he had planted his vines. Today, Emma’s role as Head Winemaker at Hattingley Valley is varied – she oversees the development of the vineyards, including producing Hattingley’s signature wines, manages the growing winemaking team and, as a director of Hattingley Valley, is involved in running the business at board level.